Daily Archives: January, 25, 2011

In this first video, via Jim Hoft, the Hammer tells us what he really thinks about Obama’s crummy speech: “This is a president who is capable of giving great speeches and has… This was not one of them.”

In yesterday’s State of the Union speech, Barack Obama set himself on two contradictory courses. Obama knew he had to pay lip service to the anger among Americans over the profligate spending Congress conducted over the last four years, but then he also wanted to sell his grocery list of new initiatives at the same time. How did he do? According to the AP, Obama’s math needs remedial work in almost every area — including Obamacare…

91%? Show me a poll where 91% of Americans agree that water is wet. That’s not a poll result, that’s an election return for Saddam Hussein. Why not just make it 192%? 1092%? Then everybody in the real world will see it and start liking Obama and the things he says. Yay, CBS! You saved Obama!

All that poll shows is that the only people who bothered to watch the speech are the people who agree with Obama already. Everybody else has tuned him out. He’s made it clear that if you don’t see things his way, you’re his enemy and it’s okay to lie to you as outrageously as he pleases. And you’ll be excoriated and demonized for failing to fall in line. We’ve had two solid years of that already. Who wants to sit through even more?

Yes, the mixed-seating of the audience definitely worked against him because the birds of a feather weren’t flocked together. But this simply wasn’t an inspiring speech. I don’t think his naked calls for what amounts to industrial policy excite anybody who won’t get a check if they’re enacted. And the theme “winning the future” sounds even more focused grouped than it did when Newt Gingrich came out with a book by that title a few years ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a bump in the polls, but if I were a GOP strategist I’d take some solace in the fact that this is a guy who has, once again, misread the political moment.

A SOTU TO SNOOZE TO: “Obama seemed to have contracted Reich’s Disease, the annoying affect of lecturing to his audience as if they were schoolchildren in the manner of former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. . . . It’s even worse for Obama to lecture than for other politicians to do it, since the reason he is unlikeable (to people like me) is that he seems stuck up.”

Cub reporter Biff spackle gives his condensed 90 second version of the speech at Doug Ross @Journal.

I’d like to welcome the new Tea-Baggers and pray for the recovery of Gabby Giffords, wounded in a tragic attack by right-wing conservatives and/or Sarah Palin.

Look, it’s no secret that I’m a Marxist. Look it up. Textbook definition. But I realize now, having withstood a massive repudiation in the midterm elections, that I’m going to have to pretend to be a centrist again. Let’s all relive the glory days of my 2008 campaign when a snappy logo, a compliant media and an amorphous slogan — Change! — catapulted me to my first real job.

And so on…

RELATED:

This is a reaction to Obama’s duplicitous article in USA Today which fooled no one:

Hawaii’s State Attorney General David Louie gave more volume to those “birther” voices on Saturday after he refused to release President Obama’s birth certificate documents on privacy grounds. Louie told Governor Abercrombie that the documents could not be released without the consent of President Obama, even though Mr. Obama is a public figure and his legitimate appointment to the US presidency is dependent on proof that he was born in the United States.

“our investigation” indicates there is a recording of his birth.”It actually exists in the archives, written down,” he said.

Jack Cashill links to a Mike Evans interview on KQRS on January 20. Evans, a “longtime friend” of Abercrombie’s, claimed that there is no birth certificate for Obama on file:

Evans, Honolulu born and now a Hollywood-based celebrity journalist, claimed that Abercrombie had promised him that he when he became governor, he planned to find absolute proof that Obama was born in Hawaii.

When Evans spoke to Abercrombie on January 19, Abercrombie reportedly told him that he searched the relevant Hawaii hospitals using his powers as governor, and concluded, according to Evans, “There is no Barack Obama birth certificate in Hawaii, absolutely no proof at all that Obama was born in Hawaii.” After Abercrombie made such a fuss about finding the birth certificate, Evans concluded of his friend that he has “got some egg in the face.”

Meanwhile, Atlas Shrugs is still insisting that the certification that initially appeared on Daily Kos (how Presidential), and was eventually posted on Obama’s farcical “Fight the Smears” website, is a forgery, and a very bad one at that: A New Twist in Obama Birth Certificate Mystery:

In what could be considered a psyop on the American people, the birth certificate issue is being used to smear the Republicans in general as “birthers,” conspiracy nuts who have given themselves over to right-wing nuttery. Any mention of this issue inspires in many the same revulsion as being diagnosed with the clap did in the ‘50s. And the arrogance and fear on the right of being tainted by this issue has created such dissension and infighting that we’re eating our young — and the left is positively giddy.

We, the American people, are not the enemy here, we are not the guilty party. The media should stop blaming the victim. Remember: conservatives are not responsible for the birth certificate issue at all. Obama is, by refusing to this day to release the vault copy — whether because it contains something damaging or simply because it enables him to wield the weapon of ridicule against the right. At this point, the effect is the same regardless of which of those possibilities is true. This carnival of conspiracy has become a deliberate distraction from the real issues and the real destruction being wrought by the Obama administration.

“…a solid foundation for the U.S. economy must be built on five pillars: new rules for Wall Street, new investments in education, renewable energy and health care and new federal budget savings to reduce debt.”

One person not taking part in the “civility” march tonight: Justice Alito. He won’t be there. I don’t really blame him after what happened last year. As far as the court’s other “conservative” Justices – Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia, and Justice Thomas – it’s not known yet whether they will be in attendance.

Here’s the only seating list I’ve been able to find so far. I’m looking for a complete list of the politicos who have decided it’s in their best interests to take part in the bipartisan seating idea. When I do, I’ll post it here so that – in the event your House rep. and/or Senator(s) are taking part – you can email them (House / Senate) and let them know what you think.

Conservatives have nothing to lose by making the effort to persuade the other side. We should be setting the tone by our actions, not just our words. Demonstrating how to debate real issues respectfully strengthens our case because the facts, and the math, are on our side.

Let me leave you with a few Proverbs that define civility far better than anything I’ve read in recent weeks.

Proverbs 19:11 — “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.”

Proverbs 25:21–22 — “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”

Proverbs 15:1–2 — “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.”

Proverbs 25:15 — “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.”

“The most important SOTU rebuttal” is similar in meaning to “the most hygenic hippie.”

Still, Drudge moves opinion, doesn’t he? Drudge shapes narratives. And for the first time in a long time, the rebuttal is not just a formality. The narrative (forced by Drudge) is that this is a duel.

Now, not everyone reads Drudge, of course, but the MFM does, even if it hates the fact that Drudge is guilty of the felony of practicing Narrative-Shaping Without A License.

This is a great narrative to push. The MSM will be praying for an epic Jindal caliber fail, but Ryan will hit it out of the park. Definitely hit the link for Ace’s guess about how it will go – I think he’s dead on. And check back later for his live blogging.

I’ll be shlepping my girls back from dance class when it starts. Probably won’t live blog. (I rarely do that)…but I will most likely be posting later tonight.